For the first time, we here report trace fossils of dung beetle brood balls (Coprinisphaera ichnogenus) in late Pleistocene sediments from Somalia. The sediments containing these traces represent a lagoonal sedimentary sequence, cropping out along some quarry walls in the outskirts of the Kisimayo town. The terrestrial ichnofossils are accompanied by some shells of the giant land snail Achatina, which confirms the subaerial exposure. Indeed, the rock, generally strongly weathered, shows a texture of a foraminiferal packstone-grainstone, rich in bivalve and gastropod molds, of marine origin. The related facies stack is indicative of a period of environmental changes, which took place in a sheltered shallow water coastal area of a tropical carbonate shelf. For a short time, due to a slight lowering in sea-level, this lagoonal area experienced subaerial conditions with accumulation of wave- and wind-driven marine sand in a backshore zone, so allowing the development of environmental conditions suitable for the appearance of terrestrial trace fossils and Achatina. The discovery of Coprinisphaera represents one of the rare African records of the ichnogenus; it is also a unique example for the Indian Ocean’s African coast of a terrestrial episode being found within a lagoonal sequence.

我们首次在这里报道了索马里晚更新世沉积物中的粪甲虫育雏球（Coprinisphaera ichnogenus）的痕迹化石。包含这些痕迹的沉积物代表泻湖沉积序列，沿着基西马约镇郊区的一些采石场墙播出。陆地鱼类化石伴随着巨型蜗牛Achatina的一些贝壳，这确认了航空暴露。确实，通常强烈风化的岩石表现出有孔虫的结石-花岗岩的质地，富含海生的双壳类和腹足纲动物的霉菌。相关的相叠指示了一段时间的环境变化，该环境变化发生在热带碳酸盐岩架的避风浅海沿岸地区。在短时间内，由于海平面略有下降，该泻湖地区经历了海底条件，在沿海地区积聚了波浪和风驱动的海沙，因此允许开发适合陆地出现的环境条件痕迹化石和Achatina。鸡腿菇的发现代表鱼腥草的非洲稀有记录之一；这也是印度洋非洲海岸在泻湖层序中发现陆地事件的独特例子。